The disclosed embodiments relate to a medical device. Specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to a guide wire that is inserted into a lumen such as a blood vessel.
A guide wire used when inserting a catheter into a blood vessel is known. When inserting a catheter, the guide wire is first inserted into the blood vessel, and then the catheter is allowed to proceed along the guide wire. In such manner, the guide wire functions as a guide which guides the catheter to the lesion area.
A so-called coil-type guide wire having the distal end portion of its core shaft covered with a coil body is commonly used as such a guide wire. In addition, for the purpose of increasing lubricity within the blood vessel, a guide wire having the surface of its coil body covered with a hydrophilic coating film has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No 5,840,046 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-237621. The hydrophilic coating film is capable of exhibiting sufficient lubricity in cases when moisture (such as blood) exists in its surroundings.